Heretofore, vehicle weatherstrips while providing a barrier to exterior elements such as wind, rain, snow, and sleet, have generally not diminished, and can even contribute to, the interior noise level of the vehicle. Vehicles thus have had an interior noise level often well above 40 dBA.
Vehicle weatherstrips, such as automotive weatherstrips, have been coated for several years, initially with solvent borne urethane systems and more recently with aqueous urethane systems. While such coatings must pass a variety of automotive performance tests (varies depending upon the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM), they generally have an undesirable noise level. Moreover, retention of low coefficient of friction (COF) values is generally not maintained because the coating contains various fillers such as waxes or silicones which migrate to the surface of the weatherstrip and eventually are removed and result in an increased coefficient of friction.
Japanese Abstract 61155432 relates to obtaining a coating composition which, when applied to the surface of a polymeric elastomer such as an object, especially, a nonpolar rubber, allegedly improves the adhesion, lubricity, water repellency, resistance to freezing, abrasion resistance, etc., of the elastomer, by using a curable polyurethane, a curable silicone and a tackifier as the principal components of the coating composition.
Japanese Abstract 61155431 relates to obtaining a coating composition, which, when applied to the surface of an nonpolar polymeric elastomer such as EPT rubber, can allegedly improve its adhesion, lubricity, water repellency, abrasion resistance, resistance to freezing, etc., by using curable polyurethane, a polyorganosiloxane composition and a tackifying agent as the principal components of the coating composition.
Japanese Abstract 61138636 relates to providing a composition containing a curable polyurethane composed of a polyvalent isocyanate and a polyol and a curable silicone as the film-forming elements, giving a firm bond by one-coat treatment, and forming a surface allegedly having excellent slipperiness, water-repellency, sound-proofing property and abrasion resistance.
Japanese Abstract 58071233 relates to preventing friction noise and allegedly improve sliding resistance and adhesion by forming a covering fixing coat using a surface treating agent containing polymer with a specific compounding for polyurethane coating material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,742,784 relates to a weather strip or glass run for an automotive vehicle. The weather strip comprises a main body formed of an elastomer. A slidably contacting section to which a part other than the weather strip is slidably contactable is fixedly formed on the main body and contains a material having at least one of hydrophilicity and water absorbability. The slidably contacting section may be integral with the main body to form a one-piece structure, in which the slidably contacting section is formed of the elastomer, and the elastomer of the main body and the slidably contacting section contain the material having at least one of hydrophilicity and water absorbability.